Samsung's Galaxy Note smartphones don't sell quite as well as the flagship Galaxy S lineup does, but the stylus-driven phones have still been a major success story for the company. It makes sense, then, that Samsung would follow the Note phones up with a similarly stylus-equipped tablet, but when we reviewed the Note 10.1 we came away less-than-impressed by the device's software, cost, and build quality.

Samsung has so far proven quite competent at iterating on its products, though, and we were intrigued when we heard that an 8" version of the Note would be shown off at Mobile World Congress—we met with some representatives of Samsung who walked us through the device's features and told us how this version of the tablet hopes to avoid some of its bigger brother's mistakes. Obviously, we'll need to wait for review hardware before we can see how it would be to live with this tablet, but based on our hands-on with the device, it appears to be an improvement in most of the important ways.

Before continuing: Samsung was quick to point out that the version of the Note 8 on display at the show is the European version—the tablet is coming to the US, but features like voice calling might not make it to the US depending on the carriers, for example. Samsung would neither confirm nor deny that any particular feature wouldn't make the jump, but it's something to keep in mind.

Small tablet, or big phone?

Enlarge/ The Note lineup continues to be defined by its digitizers and S Pen styli.

Andrew Cunningham

In use, the Note 8.0's hardware is more akin to the Note 10.1, but in design it actually shares more with Samsung's Android phones. Like the phones, the Note 8.0 uses a hardware home button that is flanked by capacitive menu and back buttons, which (along with the speaker above the screen) make the tablet look very much like an oversized Galaxy S III. The Note 8 also uses thinner bezels on the long sides of the screen, a strategy Apple also employed when it shrank its flagship tablet down to this size.

The tablet also feels better-constructed than the Note 10.1—in particular, the larger tablet used a very flexible plastic on its back that bent very easily, even if you weren't gripping the tablet particularly hard. The Note 8 is still all-plastic, but doesn't bend or flex or creak particularly badly. That tablet's 1280×800 resolution, re-used in the Note 8.0, also looks better at this screen size—the Note 8.0's screen is 189PPI, up from 149 in the Note 10.1 and 163 in the iPad mini.

Enlarge/ Capacitive menu and back buttons flank a hardware home button, as in Samsung's smartphones.

Enlarge/ The back of the tablet has none of the nasty flexing exhibited in the Note 10.1.

Andrew Cunningham

On the inside, the international version of the tablet looks very much like both the Note 10.1 and Note II. They all use a quad-core Exynos 4 SoC (here clocked at 1.6GHz, a bit faster than the 1.4GHz in the Note 10.1) and 2GB of RAM drive the action, and the capacitive touchscreen also includes a digitizer for use with the included S Pen (which is housed in the lower-right corner of the tablet when not in use). One welcome change from the Note II is that the menu and back buttons in the Note 8.0 can both be pressed using the stylus—in the Note II, they were capacitive only, so heavy stylus users would have to tap them with their fingers to get them to do anything.

The Note 8.0 features either 16 or 32GB of storage that's expandable via a microSD card slot on the device's side; it also includes a 5MP rear-facing camera and an IR blaster used for controlling TVs and set-top boxes. The tablet features a reasonably sizable 4600mAh battery, and fits it all into a package that weights 11.9 ounces and is 0.31" thick—thinner than some of the smartphones we've seen on the show floor. The tablet is pretty easy to hold with one hand, which we consider a must especially in these smaller tablets.

As we've mentioned, this version of the tablet can also make voice calls, and to that end there's a small speaker grille above the screen, similar to the one in the Asus FonePad—again, you'll probably just look silly holding this thing up to your ear, but if you do most of your talking via a headset or speakerphone, it'll be a welcome feature for those who only occasionally use their phones as phones.

Smarter software

The Note 10.1's software was promising at launch, but ultimately less-than-stunning—it was a bit unstable, and its intriguing multi-tasking capabilities were supported by only a handful of the built-in apps.

Note 10.1 owners will already be familiar with some of the advancements on display in the Note 8.0, since they came down in that tablet's Jelly Bean update. In particular, the Multi-View mode that allows you to run two applications side by side has been updated to permit those applications to be resizable—for example, instead of having one's Twitter client and Web browser each take up half of the screen, you could resize the apps so that your browser takes up 80 percent of the space and your Twitter stream just takes up 20 percent. Third-party applications still have to be modified to support this feature, but Samsung seems to have enabled most of the important ones since last we looked at a Note tablet—Twitter, Facebook, Chrome, Google Maps, and other convenient apps can now make use of the feature.

Enlarge/ Supported apps can run side-by-side on the Note 8.0's screen, a feature that returns from the Note 10.1 (and is also available in Windows 8 and Ubuntu for tablets).

Andrew Cunningham

Aside from the note-taking and drawing apps that remain the Note series' bread-and-butter (and the general TouchWiz interface flourishes that are part of every recent Samsung device), a mix of hardware and software optimizations also allow the pen to be used as a mouse—hovering over the screen will interact with menus and other elements in the same way that rolling over them with a mouse would, while tapping elements on the screen still serves as a "click" or finger tap.

Obviously, in our small amount of controlled hands-on time with the device, we can't really speak to the software's long-term speed and stability, but we didn't experience much by way of slowdowns or application crashes on the device while we used it. We did have one or two gestures that were interpreted incorrectly, but we'd be hard pressed to name a multitouch device that didn't have this problem at least every once in a while. Overall, the lineup seems to have benefited from the enhancements brought on by Jelly Bean (and Samsung's own tweaks and additions), though we'd like to log a bit more time with device before saying this definitively.

Second time's the charm?

Enlarge/ The S Pen, which fits into the lower-right corner of the device.

Andrew Cunningham

Our opinion of the first Note tablet was that the 10.1" model had some good ideas—its use of its stylus and the rudimentary multitasking among them—but that its execution lacked finesse. The (comparatively) low-resolution screen, the middling build quality, intermittent software instability issues, and the $499 price tag were the major culprits.

The Note 8.0 improves both the screen density and the build quality, and the Note tablet's software appears to have matured since our original review—we didn't have long to try it out, but at least on the surface the software appeared to be more reliable than in our Note 10.1 review unit. We're still waiting to hear about the pricing (and the US availability—global availability is slated for sometime in the second quarter), but if Samsung can get that right, the Note 8.0 impressed us more than did the Note 10.1 despite the many similarities between the two.

I cannot wait for this to arrive. its the right size it has the pen input, good screen. i am now looking for the preorder page in the samsung site.I wish it had the 8 core chip in it but meh. day to day use its not likely to effect me to much.And more colours please Samsung. Black would be great!

It's interesting to note that google recently came down pretty hard on the idea of CyanogenMod incorporating similar split-screen multitasking through cornerstone - so much so that the CM devs dropped the idea. It was not entirely clear why Google accepted Samsung's version, though - from the review it sounds as if Samsung's operating a whitelist approach and will only allow the mode for apps that it has specifically modified so they won't break when the display area changes. Is this the case?

The relatively low res is quite disappointing, but we knew that already. The main attraction lies in the stylus allowing more accurate note-taking, but I saw another review that mentioned a bit of lag, something that would be a real annoyance. Did you experience any problems writing or drawing with the stylus?

With the 16GB Nexus 7 at $199 it's going to be a tough sell if the price on this ends up over $250, but with their marketing muscle Samsung will probably get away with $299.

It's interesting to note that google recently came down pretty hard on the idea of CyanogenMod incorporating similar split-screen multitasking through cornerstone - so much so that the CM devs dropped the idea. It was not entirely clear why Google accepted Samsung's version, though - from the review it sounds as if Samsung's operating a whitelist approach and will only allow the mode for apps that it has specifically modified so they won't break when the display area changes. Is this the case?...With the 16GB Nexus 7 at $199 it's going to be a tough sell if the price on this ends up over $250, but with their marketing muscle Samsung will probably get away with $299.

Samsung can pretty much whatever they want, and there's relatively little Google could do to stop them in that regard - up to and including nigh-on completely re-writing their own version of Android if they wanted from something like an AOSP source.

As for the price, forget it. If it's actually a phone and has cellular capability, it'll be more like $799 rather than $299. The Galaxy S3 itself is listed as $545 on Amazon right now, off-contract.

A bit by chance, I ended with 2 Note devices: a Galaxy Note (because it was the biggest smartphone available when I needed one), and a Note 10.1 (because this Xmas when I got it, it was the highest-specced tablet that was available: 2GB RAM, SD Slot... The Nexus 10 is permanently out-of-stock, the hi-rez tablets are overkill and too expensive for me, the non-highrez tablets have lower specs). I'm finding both devices very nice and reliable.

Build quality is solid. I don't feel like I have to baby the devices. My 18 months old Note has held up perfectly well. I haven't noticed any flex (I haven't looked for it though).

I originally wasn't planning on using the stylus, but I'm finding myself using it more and more, not because it is quicker (it isn't), but because it's more natural, and doesn't require my brain to switch to "hunt and peck for small keys" mode. It takes a bit of getting used to, but really grows on you over time.

The screen is OK for my old eyes, though I much prefer the AMOLED on the Note over the LCD on the Note 10. I know color fidelity sucks, but the contrast of AMOLED really makes a difference, and the pure blacks make it a pleasure to use at night in bed, I don't get the "black light" feeling of LCDs.

Multitasking is a bit impractical on such a small screen. I've tried keeping a video on-screen while doing something else, but it always gets in the way, even on the Note 10.1. I haven't tried side-by-side multitasking, only the Picture-in-Picture type.

The one thing I'd like is LOUDER SOUND. The Note 10.1 in particular is supposed to be a "media consumption device", ie I'm supposed to be able to hear it while doing the dishes. I'm not.

I won't be getting a Note 8 because it's too-big for a "carry" device (I have a similar-size Nook Color: I can't use it one-handed and it doesn't fit in my pockets), and too small for a stay-at-home one (I'm hoping there will be 11.6 to 13" tablets next time around). But based on my experience with its 2 siblings, I'll recommend it to anyone who wants that size.

If the US version is missing a major built in feature that the international version has, like voice calling, I'm going to be a little bit angry.

edit...

Not to mention I'll avoid buying it purely out of retaliation. There are plenty of tablets out there. Voice calling would be a good way to set it apart. Pairing such a tablet with something like the Sony SmartWatch and a blue tooth ear piece seems like it might be a good setup.

Samsung can pretty much whatever they want, and there's relatively little Google could do to stop them in that regard

Just like Amazon, Samsung's free to create their own fork of Android, but then they wouldn't be able to bundle the Play Store and Google's apps. Amazon has enough content to forge ahead with their own ecosystem, but Samsung doesn't, and I don't remember seeing them make any moves to do so. So, while Samsung carries a lot of weight with Android, Google still has a big stick when it comes to enforcing app compatibility.

I would consider buying one as I don't like physically touching the screen and my eyes are not as good as they used to be.

It's one device, I would need a handle on the back and a holster to carry it, but those are minor issues for one device that does it all basically.

I'm old, I wear shorts that show off my spindly legs, my belly sticks out and my clothes are mismatched, I wear old spice and thus I really don't care if I look any stranger than I'm already am holding that big thing to my ear.

But it has to have the phone call capability in the U.S., if not then forget it.

Geezers rule, we got the demographics in our favor for the next 20 years. Haha!

It's interesting to note that google recently came down pretty hard on the idea of CyanogenMod incorporating similar split-screen multitasking through cornerstone - so much so that the CM devs dropped the idea. It was not entirely clear why Google accepted Samsung's version, though - from the review it sounds as if Samsung's operating a whitelist approach and will only allow the mode for apps that it has specifically modified so they won't break when the display area changes. Is this the case?

The relatively low res is quite disappointing, but we knew that already. The main attraction lies in the stylus allowing more accurate note-taking, but I saw another review that mentioned a bit of lag, something that would be a real annoyance. Did you experience any problems writing or drawing with the stylus?

With the 16GB Nexus 7 at $199 it's going to be a tough sell if the price on this ends up over $250, but with their marketing muscle Samsung will probably get away with $299.

If the US version is missing a major built in feature that the international version has, like voice calling, I'm going to be a little bit angry.

edit...

Not to mention I'll avoid buying it purely out of retaliation. There are plenty of tablets out there. Voice calling would be a good way to set it apart. Pairing such a tablet with something like the Sony SmartWatch and a blue tooth ear piece seems like it might be a good setup.

I don't think it's a Samsung decision. The US 3g/4g market is very weird and locked-up, operators really control what gets sold (as opposed to my France for example, where most devices are bought off-contract, and strict laws ensure interoperability of all networks).

Samsung can pretty much whatever they want, and there's relatively little Google could do to stop them in that regard

Just like Amazon, Samsung's free to create their own fork of Android, but then they wouldn't be able to bundle the Play Store and Google's apps. Amazon has enough content to forge ahead with their own ecosystem, but Samsung doesn't, and I don't remember seeing them make any moves to do so. So, while Samsung carries a lot of weight with Android, Google still has a big stick when it comes to enforcing app compatibility.

The discussion linked above clearly states Google's litmus test: modifications to Android must not break market apps. Dynamically changing the screen size and/or ratio while running would break apps. Thus, Samsung only does multi-windows for their own apps; market apps are not impacted (but can't use the functionnality). It is also OK to have the functionnality as an opt-in, with 3rd-party apps coded for it enabling the feature. But apps *not* coded for it must not suffer any side-effects, which means must run full-screen without the OS trying to resize them.

I bought a Note 10.1 right before the announcements before the Note 8. I previously had an iPad and Nexus 7. The Note 10.1, despite the plastic casing and average screen resolution, is hands down the best tablet I have every used. The quadcore CPU and 2GB of RAM never slow down. I take a lot of handwritten notes, and a fat stylus on an iPad was just "ok" (using Notability). The small tip and pressure sensitivity of the S-Pen, along with the input speed, is wonderful. Handwriting recognition, although not often used, is excellent. I love the split window feature, keeping email open while taking notes. And the Jellybean 4.1 update really increased the quality of the Samsung apps. Perhaps the 8" screen will work for taking notes, but I found my Nexus 7 just too small for that task. The 10.1" screen is excellent, and I would even go with a 12" screen if available. For feature requests, I wish the S-Pen button was used more than quick-opening of S Note and screen capture, the case was aluminum or a more robust plastic, and the screen resolution higher. Still, those are minor complaints when weighed against the wonderful features of using the S Pen. And it seems the Note 8 hasn't "fixed" my small complaints. I'll happily keep my Note 10.1 for the foreseeable future.

Nice looking overall, and I like the idea of the pen, but I wish (and this is completely subjective) that Samsung would move away from materials so obviously plastic and that the sides, top and bottom were more rectangular and not so... gently flared.

One of the problems with Samsung is their products are so damn good; let me explain:

I first bought a S3, amazing phone but was finally tempted by the Note 2 so give the S3 to my mom who loves it...and got the Note 2!

Now the Note 8 just seems like a bigger version of the Note 2 but does not offer a whole lot of stuff for me to break contract and go for the 8 as the 2 is just fantastic as is.

A friend of mine is on the original Note and he still loves it, no plans to even upgrade to the 2, he's looking forward to the 3 and while I will be out of contract around the time the 4 arrives... I am so happy with my phone that I dont see myself upgrading unless something drastic happens to my phone (eg: smashed screen).

For those of you who dont have a Note/2:1 - Yes, the first time you take it out of its package it looks huge, 2 - the first 2 days it feels a bit odd3 - after the 3rd day you dont even think about it4 - other phones look and feel puny or like toys (not trying to be insulting, just saying it like it is)5 - No problems putting it in jacket or jeans pockets, and yes, I wear tight jeans but not skinnies.

One of the problems with Samsung is their products are so damn good; let me explain:

I first bought a S3, amazing phone but was finally tempted by the Note 2 so give the S3 to my mom who loves it...and got the Note 2!

Now the Note 8 just seems like a bigger version of the Note 2 but does not offer a whole lot of stuff for me to break contract and go for the 8 as the 2 is just fantastic as is.

A friend of mine is on the original Note and he still loves it, no plans to even upgrade to the 2, he's looking forward to the 3 and while I will be out of contract around the time the 4 arrives... I am so happy with my phone that I dont see myself upgrading unless something drastic happens to my phone (eg: smashed screen).

For those of you who dont have a Note/2:1 - Yes, the first time you take it out of its package it looks huge, 2 - the first 2 days it feels a bit odd3 - after the 3rd day you dont even think about it4 - other phones look and feel puny or like toys (not trying to be insulting, just saying it like it is)5 - No problems putting it in jacket or jeans pockets, and yes, I wear tight jeans but not skinnies.

Cheers!

This. Using a smaller smartphone after having gotten used to a Note feels like eating soup with a coffee spoon... "and you enjoying watching movies on that ?? !! ??". Plus the amount of back and forth sideways scrolling, zooming/dezooming... on smaller phones really is painful.

The discussion linked above clearly states Google's litmus test: modifications to Android must not break market apps. Dynamically changing the screen size and/or ratio while running would break apps. Thus, Samsung only does multi-windows for their own apps; market apps are not impacted (but can't use the functionnality). It is also OK to have the functionnality as an opt-in, with 3rd-party apps coded for it enabling the feature. But apps *not* coded for it must not suffer any side-effects, which means must run full-screen without the OS trying to resize them.

Slightly hypocritical though, in that Google's own GMail app can use the split-screen functionality - as well as a few other 3rd party apps like twitter and Facebook.

The discussion linked above clearly states Google's litmus test: modifications to Android must not break market apps. Dynamically changing the screen size and/or ratio while running would break apps. Thus, Samsung only does multi-windows for their own apps; market apps are not impacted (but can't use the functionnality). It is also OK to have the functionnality as an opt-in, with 3rd-party apps coded for it enabling the feature. But apps *not* coded for it must not suffer any side-effects, which means must run full-screen without the OS trying to resize them.

Slightly hypocritical though, in that Google's own GMail app can use the split-screen functionality - as well as a few other 3rd party apps like twitter and Facebook.

I understand the carriers will make the decision on the enabling the voice capability, but dang near every day I see stories about how dominant Samsung has become, and how much clout they have. Samsung has shown it can now get the Note2 into all of the main USA carriers without much meddling of their designs, so why can't they just tell them to shut up and activate the damn phone on the Note8? Why wouldn't a carrier want more devices using their network? It's not like an 8" cellphone is going to steal sales for their usual cash cows...

BTW, I already have the original Note phone and the 10.1 Note tablet. Both have been perfectly great gadgets, and I have no plans on upgrading either for at least a year. I'm really hoping the Note3 phone or Note 8 tablet version 2 will have a YOUM screen, even better battery life, and my personal holy grail; ability to be used in full sunlight. I don't know why nobody in the OEMs seems to think this might be rather useful. My dream gadget is a 6-8" all-in-one phablet with stylus and sketching / note taking s/w with OCR that I can use outdoors and actually see the screen.

One of the problems with Samsung is their products are so damn good; let me explain:

I first bought a S3, amazing phone but was finally tempted by the Note 2 so give the S3 to my mom who loves it...and got the Note 2!

A bit more info please...why is it (S3) amazing and how has the durability been? Same for the Note.

Why is the S3 amazing? It's hard to know even where to start! It's just a _beautiful_ piece of technology. Wifey already has an S3 so I couldnt offer it there first, but my mom was using an old flip Nokia till I almost forced her to play with the S3 for a few days and helped her at first with "the ways of the smartphone".

To her credit she picked up on it really fast and (now to the amazing part/s) loved the:large crisp screenaccurate keyboard (she didnt like the "new fangled swipe keyboards")ease of use lovely camerathe way the screen never dims when you are looking at itspeed and responsiveness of it even compared to my sisters iPhone (4s)The way we just tapped phones to transfer pictures/sites via NFCThe large memory (it comes with 16 gigs, I expanded it with 32 more so she has ALL her music on it, and a few movies/tv serials)The battery was/is good, but its my mom and she is not so bothered with how thin a phone is like the teenage generation, so I got her a battery extender from eBay which gives her *days* of battery life before she needs to recharge... she actually likes the more bulky (if thats the word) phone now!

And the above is just the top of my head, a lot more amazing things can be said about the phone, just check youtube.

About the Note:All the advantages of the stock S3 plus...The s-pen, at first like a lot of people I was not sure I would use it much, I find myself using it everyday now!The screen - b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.! Less scrolling, so much screen real estate for messages and pages!The split screen functionality, LOVE IT!Battery life, huge damn battery, even friends with other large android phones are envious of the battery life I get.I can get an extender for the note as well, but really dont need it! (Never thought I would say that about a smartphone battery)Movies/serials look awesome on the large screenI use teamviewer to control remote computers at office and the large screen is a joy.I put a 64gb card so memory is no problem at allAs for durability: both phones have fallen on their backs and on their faces, their cases have come apart when they fell... all you have to do is put it back and it works perfectly (the case falls apart taking the energy out of the fall), not even a scratch (thank you gorialla glass 2!)

Heck this post has gotten much larger than anticipated

In closing Sammy has gotten it right with great features, large screens, good camera,expandable memory and removable battery along with good/great battery life. No wonder they are doing so well - pity HTC didnt follow suit and Google insists on crippling the Nexus series without expandable memory and other things.

The Note 10.1, despite the plastic casing and average screen resolution, is hands down the best tablet I have every used.

Totally agree, and the *many* so-so to downright negative reviews really call into question the integrity of the reviewers when they fly in the face of the reality of using the Note 10.1, which like any good device, is good enough to be considered a tool. I sold my iPad3 for a good price to get this thing and never regretted it. I'm keeping it until something like the YOUM screen models come out, hopefully full sunlight capable. I'd like to see the stylus button made more useful... let us map it to what we want. In particular, for text selection. I love being able to select text on my Win8 Sony Duo 11 with its stylus and then using its button to copy & paste. Mobile text editing has been pretty poor for a long time, and why not use the stylus to get around that limitation?

It's interesting to note that google recently came down pretty hard on the idea of CyanogenMod incorporating similar split-screen multitasking through cornerstone - so much so that the CM devs dropped the idea. It was not entirely clear why Google accepted Samsung's version, though - from the review it sounds as if Samsung's operating a whitelist approach and will only allow the mode for apps that it has specifically modified so they won't break when the display area changes. Is this the case?...With the 16GB Nexus 7 at $199 it's going to be a tough sell if the price on this ends up over $250, but with their marketing muscle Samsung will probably get away with $299.

Samsung can pretty much whatever they want, and there's relatively little Google could do to stop them in that regard - up to and including nigh-on completely re-writing their own version of Android if they wanted from something like an AOSP source.

As for the price, forget it. If it's actually a phone and has cellular capability, it'll be more like $799 rather than $299. The Galaxy S3 itself is listed as $545 on Amazon right now, off-contract.

If it's only a tablet, however, $299-350 is more plausible.

I don't get how simply adding a cell radio to a tablet damn near doubles the price of the device.

As for the price, forget it. If it's actually a phone and has cellular capability, it'll be more like $799 rather than $299. The Galaxy S3 itself is listed as $545 on Amazon right now, off-contract.

If it's only a tablet, however, $299-350 is more plausible.

The prices between smartphones and tablets are really funny now. Even Apple sells a 8" tablet with 3G for less than the iPhone, the Asus Fonepad will be $249 (with a 7" 1280x800 IPS screen, 3G and phone capability) while smaller smartphones with crappy screens cost more than that off-contract.

If this Samsung phablet will cost $799 you'll pay $550 more than for the Asus Fonepad -- for a screen digitizer, a (probably) better camera and faster CPU/GPU.

Samsung only does multi-windows for their own apps; market apps are not impacted (but can't use the functionnality). It is also OK to have the functionnality as an opt-in, with 3rd-party apps coded for it enabling the feature. But apps *not* coded for it must not suffer any side-effects, which means must run full-screen without the OS trying to resize them.

Well, that's the question. Dianne Hackborn says, "You can have a custom API for applications to opt in to your experience." Is this, in fact, what Samsung have done? I can't find it on Samsung's developer site, and suspect that they're just hacking each individual app that they whitelist.

I understand the carriers will make the decision on the enabling the voice capability, but dang near every day I see stories about how dominant Samsung has become, and how much clout they have. Samsung has shown it can now get the Note2 into all of the main USA carriers without much meddling of their designs, so why can't they just tell them to shut up and activate the damn phone on the Note8? Why wouldn't a carrier want more devices using their network? It's not like an 8" cellphone is going to steal sales for their usual cash cows...

Your last line speaks volumes. The reason carriers won't bring it in is because tablets don't sell as well as phones. In a store that already has several product lines, shelf space is valuable, and space used by devices that don't sell (or are a hard sell) is lost revenue. And there's still the radio problem (at least in the US).

The problem I have with the current system is that any carrier will activate any compatible handset on their network, but only 1 that I know of (at least of the big 4) will give you a "discount" if you do so (technically, they just separate handset and service into their own line items on the bill, but once you pay off the handset it's yours and the monthly bill actually goes down if you finance it through them). There's no incentive to bring your own phone other than having the handset you want instead of the "close enough" solution from the carrier.

Did they mention anything about the IR Blaster? Also, it seems portait based, especially with the buttons, does the homescreen rotate to landscape mode?

The S-pen is the intriguing part for me, but Touchwiz always leaves me hesitant.. I'd love to use this as a remote for my entertainment system, especially if I could put a small remote on 20/30% of the screen and use the other 70/80% for other things concurrently (which would give it an edge over the Sony Z - and price assumedly).. though in landscape mode.. plus use it as the livingroom tablet I could share with guests.. granted it's under $300 or so for a Wifi version..

Also, similar to the Fonepad, but with an S-Pen (international version) - paired with a smartwatch and bluetooth headset could be an intriguing phone alternative during the work week if you use mass transit (or carry a bag) - I wonder how much more they'll charge than Asus..

Hardware on the unit:Does it have NFC and the Samsung S-Beam? To move files back and forth between other Samsung devices like my GS3..Where is the IR blaster? Top edge?What is the front-camera? I can't imagine taking many pics with the meager 5mp camera on the back, but I would do video calling (maybe) with the front camera if it were good enough.

Carriers:Please let this in with call capabilities. I don't foresee moving away from 'phone-sized' devices to make calls any time soon, but if both could be on a single plan with the same number, that would be a step in the right direction.

The back of the tablet has none of the nasty flexing exhibited in the Note 10.1.

I do not understand this obsession with the rigidity of such devices (tablets/smartphones and even in the case of laptops). It makes me think of someone complaining that a book he bought has pages that are too flexible. Who cares? Or why should you care about some flexing of the device case? Are you going to use your tablet to dig holes in the ground?

Andrew Cunningham / Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue.